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L. N. D. WILLIAMS. KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE CYLINDER.

No. 552,805. Patented Jan. 7, 1896.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS N. D. \VILLIAMS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT V. SCOTT, OF SAME PLACE.

KNITTING-MACHINE NEEDLE-CYLINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,805, dated January 7, 1896.. Application filed March 21, 1892. Serial No. 425,749. (No model.) Patented in England March 28, 1892, No. 6,005.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS N. D. W ILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Knitting-Machine Needle-Cylinders, (patented in Great Britain March 28, 1892, No. 6,005,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of knittingmachine needle-cylinders which have sinkers or web-holders secured thereto around the top, these sinkers or web-holders alternating with the needles and consisting of steel bits let into vertical grooves or slots around the top of the cylinder, the bits, when i11- tended to serve'as web-holders, being hooked so as to catch and retain the web as the needles rise.

My invention relates especially to cylinders of large size, such as Balmoral cylinders, having a large number of such sinkers or webholders, which, for convenience, I will hereinafter simply term bits.

The object of my invention is to provid for securing the bits to the needle-cylinder with greater accuracy and at less expense than heretofore, an object Which I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a knitting-machine cylinder having bits secured thereto in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of part of the cylinder 011 the line 1 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a modification of the invention. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of a segment of the cylinder on the line 3 4:, Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view'illustrating a further modification.

The bits usually employed .in connection with the needle-cylinder 'of a knitting-machine are ordinarily let into grooves or slots formed in the'cylinder between the needles,

the bits being generally secured in these slots by soldering or brazing. This method of se curing the bits is objectionable because, in the first place, great care must be exercised in fitting the same so as to have them uniform,

cylinder before the latter is in condition for being put to work, and in cylinders of large size having a great number of bits this cleaning operation is tedious and expensive. In carrying out my invention with the view of overcoming these objections, therefore, I preferably proceed as follows:

I first form in the cylinder below the top of the same a circumferential groove a, which is produced by turning in the lathe, so that it is absolutely accurate-that is to say, all portions of the base of the groove are equidistant from the axial line of the cylinder and the width of the groove is the same throughout. portion d adapted to be seated in this groove, so that when these base portions are so seated in the groove and are rigidly confined therein the bottoms of the bits rest upon the shoulder at the bottom of the groove and the upper ends of the bits must necessarily all bear precisely the same relation to the upper edge of the needlecylinder, it being understood that the bits are produced by machinery, so that they are all alike. As the vertical and radial position of the bits is therefore'determined wholly by the groove in the needle-cylinder, the slotted portions of said cylinder above the groove simply serve to properly separate the bits. Hence the slots can be made so deep that the bits will not come in contact with the bottoms of the slots, and the latter will not interfere with the firm seating of the bases of the bits in the groove a.

I prefer to confine the bits radially by means of a metal band f shrunk into position around the series of bits so as to rigidly retain the latter, although the band may, if desired, be forced vertically over the bits after the latter have been properly adjusted. Other means than the surrounding ring may, however, be adopted for securing the bits in place. In Figs. 3 and 4, for instance, I have shown another means which I have found to be effect ive for the purpose. In this case the bases of the bits are dovetailed, and the lower portion of the groove formed in the needle-cylinder and constituting the shoulder forming the seat for the bottom of the bit is undercut for the reception of the lower beveled portion of each base, the upper portion of the dove- Each of the bits I) is formed with a base tail being engaged in an undercut groove formed in a ring g secured to the top of the needle-cylinder, so that downward pressure upon this ring serves not only to vertically confine the bits, but also to draw them inward, and thus cause them to seat themselves firmly against the base of the groove. lVhen this plan of securing the bits is adopted it is preferable also to form the slots in the ring 9, as the construction of the upper portion of the cylinder is thus materially cheapened and simplified. The use of the surrounding ring f for securing the bits is in all cases, how ever, to be preferred, and this ring may, if desired, be used to secure bits simply let into the grooves or slots in the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 5for instance, a shoulder i being by preference provided on the cylinder below the grooved portion of the same to serve as a vertical stop for the bits and insure their proper vertical alignment without the exercise of any special care. An external shoulder m may also be formed on each bit so as to serve as a stop for the ring-f and prevent any rise of the bits on the cylinder.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A knitting machine cylinder having eX ternal vertical grooves or slots around its upper portion, a shoulder below said slots, bits adapted to said slots and seated upon said shoulder, and a ring engaging with said bits and serving to rigidly confine the same in the slots of the cylinder,substantially as specified.

2. A knitting machine needle cylinder having vertical slots around its upper portion, bits adapted to said slots and a ring or band surrounding said bits and serving to press the same inward and rigidly secure them in the slots, substantially as specified.

A knitting machine needle cylinder having vertical slots around the upper end, bits adapted to said slots, and a ring or band shrunk upon the series of bits and serving to press the same inwardly and rigidly secure them in the slots, substantially as specified.

4. A knitting machine needle cylinder having vertical slots around its upper end, a shoulder belowsaid slots, bits adapted to the slots and supported upon said shoulder, and a ring or band surrounding the series of bits and serving to press the same inward and rigidly secure them in the slots, substantially as specified.

5. A knitting machine needle cylinder having vertical slots around its upper end, a circumferential groove below said slots, bits adapted to be retained laterally by said slots and having bases seated in the groove, and a ring or band surrounding the series of bits and serving to press the same inward and rigidly secure them in the slots, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my. name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS N. I). WILLIAMS.

\Vitnesses W'ILLIAM D. CONNER, HARRY SMITH. 

